Web Resources

Lesson Plans

Title: TV 411 Summarizing
Description:
This interactive lesson takes students through activities and makes an excellent introduction to the skill of summarizing because it focuses more on reading than on writing. Teachers can also easily extend the lesson to writing activities in summarizing.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (8) 2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.8.2]

TV 411 Summarizinghttp://www.tv411.org...
This interactive lesson takes students through activities and makes an excellent introduction to the skill of summarizing because it focuses more on reading than on writing. Teachers can also easily extend the lesson to writing activities in summarizing.

Title: Knight Watchmen
Description:
This lesson plan is a detailed guide for teaching King Arthur. This plan includes history and language arts objectives such as describing King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, explaining the historic and the mythical aspects of the Arthurian legend, discussing the rules of chivalry honored by Arthur's knights, relating several familiar tales associated with King Arthur, and explaining the significance of the quest for the Holy Grail.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 9: By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the Grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. [RL.7.10]

Knight Watchmenhttp://edsitement.ne...
This lesson plan is a detailed guide for teaching King Arthur. This plan includes history and language arts objectives such as describing King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, explaining the historic and the mythical aspects of the Arthurian legend, discussing the rules of chivalry honored by Arthur's knights, relating several familiar tales associated with King Arthur, and explaining the significance of the quest for the Holy Grail.

Podcasts

Title: Fractured Fairy Tale
Description:
This video clip of a fractured fairy tale is useful for teaching motifs, comparison contrast, theme, genre, or irony.
Example questions:
What is important to the duckling?
What problems does the duckling face?
What is the theme of the clip?
What is ironic about the clip?
How is this version of The Ugly Duckling different than the original?
Why do you think the creator changed the story?
What does this clip reflect about our society?
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 7: Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film). [RL.7.7]

Fractured Fairy Tale http://www.youtube.c...
This video clip of a fractured fairy tale is useful for teaching motifs, comparison contrast, theme, genre, or irony.
Example questions:
What is important to the duckling?
What problems does the duckling face?
What is the theme of the clip?
What is ironic about the clip?
How is this version of The Ugly Duckling different than the original?
Why do you think the creator changed the story?
What does this clip reflect about our society?

Title: Needy or Greedy Seniors
Description:
This clip offers a look at our country's expense for caring for the elderly. This is a great companion to The Giver to stimulate class discussion regarding society's obligations to the elderly. A teacher guide for the video is available here http://stosselintheclassroom.org/pdf/stossel_TeachersGuide_11.pdf
Standard(s): [SS2010] CWI (9-12) 6: Compare information presented through various media, including television, newspapers, magazines, journals, and the Internet.

Needy or Greedy Seniorshttp://www.criticalc...
This clip offers a look at our country's expense for caring for the elderly. This is a great companion to The Giver to stimulate class discussion regarding society's obligations to the elderly. A teacher guide for the video is available here http://stosselintheclassroom.org/pdf/stossel_TeachersGuide_11.pdf

Assessments

Title: Teaching A Wrinkle in Time
Description:
This is a chapter by chapter study guide for the novel. It includes vocabulary words and vocabulary tests.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. [RL.7.4]

Informational Materials

Title: Teaching A Wrinkle in Time
Description:
This is a chapter by chapter study guide for the novel. It includes vocabulary words and vocabulary tests.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. [RL.7.4]

Interactives/Games

Title: StoryKit
Description:
"StoryKit is a free app that allows kids to edit and customize some old, classic picture books, and also create their own books from scratch. They can type in text on each page, attach photos (as long as there are photos stored on their device), take a photo, or draw their own illustrations." -from website
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.7.2]

StoryKithttps://itunes.apple...
"StoryKit is a free app that allows kids to edit and customize some old, classic picture books, and also create their own books from scratch. They can type in text on each page, attach photos (as long as there are photos stored on their device), take a photo, or draw their own illustrations." -from website

Teacher Tools

Title: StoryKit
Description:
"StoryKit is a free app that allows kids to edit and customize some old, classic picture books, and also create their own books from scratch. They can type in text on each page, attach photos (as long as there are photos stored on their device), take a photo, or draw their own illustrations." -from website
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.7.2]

StoryKithttps://itunes.apple...
"StoryKit is a free app that allows kids to edit and customize some old, classic picture books, and also create their own books from scratch. They can type in text on each page, attach photos (as long as there are photos stored on their device), take a photo, or draw their own illustrations." -from website

Title: Online Reading Activities
Description:
Create your own virtual class for students in grades 1-12 that allows them to interact with fun & interactive reading activities that will improve reading comprehension.
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (12) 13: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term or terms over the course of a text (e.g., how Madison defines faction in The Federalist No. 10). [RI.11-12.4]

Online Reading Activitieshttp://readtheory.or...
Create your own virtual class for students in grades 1-12 that allows them to interact with fun & interactive reading activities that will improve reading comprehension.

Title: LitCharts
Description:
"Easy to digest charts on books that trace characters, themes, chapters, etc" - from website
Standard(s): [ELA2013] (7) 2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. [RL.7.2]